GENETICS AND MICROBIOLOGY OF INDUSTRIAL

MICROORGANISMS
Molecular genetics and industrial microbiology — 30 years of marriage
AL Demain
Biology Department, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Keywords: genetics; recombinant DNA; metabolic engineering; directed enzyme evolution; agricultural biotechnology;
biopharmaceuticals

Industrial microbiology has been around for a long time. Since pre - biblical times, microorganisms have
been making products such as beer, wine, cheese, vinegar and pickles, to preserve our milk, fruits and
vegetables and serve our palate. In the 20th century, a golden age of industrial microbiology yielded a
myriad of products made by fermentation processes: solvents, antibiotics, enzymes, vitamins, amino
acids, flavor nucleotides, polymers, bioconverted steroids and other useful compounds [ 11 ]. Thirty years
ago, molecular genetics and industrial microbiology came together. The event took place in 1970 in
Prague at the first international symposium on the Genetics of Industrial Microorganisms ( GIM ). My
closing plenary lecture, titled ‘‘The Marriage of Genetics and Industrial Micro- biology — After a Long
Engagement, a Bright Future,’’ dealt with the industrial uses of mutants, lack of success of genetic
recombination for strain improvement, control of branched and unbranched pathways and thoughts about
the future, i.e., identi- fication of the biochemical sites of beneficial mutations, exploita- tion of
recombination and genetic means to increase production of enzymes. It is quite amazing that this
symposium was held 3 years before the advent of recombinant DNA technology.

Demain, A. L. (2001). Molecular genetics and industrial microbiology — 30 years of marriage.

Journal Of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology, 27(6), 352.